HARRISONBURG, Va. – Garland Smith found the back of the net on a volley in the 50^th minute as Radford opened the season with a 1-0 victory over North Carolina St. in the opening match of the JMU Invitational, Friday night at University Park.
 
After a scoreless first half, Radford wasted little time in the second half as Evan Szklennik touch passed a rebound from the Wolfpack goalkeeper to Smith for the volley goal. The goal came off a Szklennik shot that rebounded off the goalkeeper.
 
Radford's defense shined bright the rest of the way as the North Carolina St. attack was on full force as the Wolfpack looked for the equalizer.
 
The Wolfpack managed three shots in the second half with two coming on goal, but a strong performance by Aitor Pouseu Blanco between the pipes proved to be the difference late in the match.
 
The first half saw both teams fire shots on goal early as the Highlanders had two shots on goal within the first seven minutes of the match. Neil Martorana in the fourth minute and Smith in the sixth minute. Lukas Zarges fired a shot on frame two minutes and 45 seconds into the match, but was unable to squeeze it past Pouseu Blanco.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Radford held a 11-5 shot advantage with six shots in the first half.
• Garland Smith finished with a match-high three shots and two on goal.
• The goal is the fifth of his career.
• The shutout is the 23^rd by the Highlander defense over the last four years.
• Aitor Pouseu Blanco collected his 16 career shutout, giving him sole possession of third in Radford program history.

QUOTABLE

• "A great win over a strong North Carolina St. team. We created a lot of quality chances and hopefully we can turn that into more goals on another day. I thought our back four was very solid in limiting a talented attack and Pouseu Blanco was there on a couple of occasions. This gets us off to a good start, but we must do everything now to turn around and be ready for another great test against a strong Lehigh team." ~ Radford head coach Marc Reeves

UP NEXT
The Highlanders will face Lehigh on Sunday in the third match of the JMU Invitational. The match is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start. The matchup will pit two NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.

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